We sat down with Reactive's own 6x national champ and Euro Tour Paddler Blue Ewer to discuss the changes to this years Black Project SynergyX paddle over the outgoing FlowX.
Here's what Blue had to say*:
The New Oval Taper Shaft.
"The one change that most significant and has the biggest effect on the performance of the padd in my eyes is the change of the shaft. On the previous paddles we were using either the reduced diameter shaft or the standard diameter shaft. On the new ones they've changed to a tapered and oval shaft. The nicest thing about the oval shaft over the round one is it'll give a stiffer more direct feel. It'll feel more powerful through the water. You can really feel the water that you're pulling. Wereas with the round shafts you'll lose some of that power through flex in the shaft.
Also having an oval shaft will be much easier on your forearms. I've had to deal with pains in the past from gripping onto the thicker, rounder shafts. The new oval shafts will be easier. My arms feel fresh after I've been paddling and it's jsut a lot nicer to paddle with.
These new paddles come with different options for stiffnesses of your shaft. They way they adjust this, is when they're cutting the [tapered] shafts they'll take offer different amount from the bottom of the shaft [were the shaft is thicker and stiffer]. This way you have more flexibility over the stiffness of the shaft depending on your preferences."
The New SynergyX Blade
"Another big change they've made for the synergy is the blade is much thinner towards the tips. This will give you a much softer, cleaner catch. Whilst the catch was quite harsh on the FlowX, with the Synergy it feels really smooth, really easy to paddle with. It feels really nice and light and efficient.
Compared to the FlowX [the Synergy] has a much shallower scoop to it. You'll find this doesn't feel as locked in as the FlowX, but it'll give you a much smoother and faster exit. So, if I'm in a race, in a draft train and the person infront of me is making a push I'll need to quickly up my cadence to accelerate and stay on thier tail. I've found that a bit tricky with the FlowX, whereas with the Synergy and that fast release if I need to really quickly up my cadence, you're able to do that. That's also really helpful for paddling in the ocean if you're paddle for pumps and you need to sprint hard quickly to get onto a bump or catch a wave. I quite like that, it feel really nice. Black Project have made some great changes to thier range for 2024. The SynergyX is a big improve in our eyes over the FlowX. If you want any more information, feel free to pop in to Reactive or give us a call. We're always happy to dicuss paddles!"
*edited for brevity and clarity.
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